1991: December 28-January 3

30 December 2011

The doctor’s lusty bedside manner!Viewers of The Flying Doctors may be shocked by a lusty bedroom scene coming up in a future episode between Dr Guy Reid (David Reyne) and Penny Wellings (Sophie Lee). The “fling” is the result of Penny’s boyfriend Steve (Paul Kelman) getting a local schoolteacher pregnant. Penny turns to Guy for comfort and he exploits a “golden opportunity”. “He’s the sort of man who lusts after all women, really,” Reyne told TV Week. “Although he is in a relationship with Nurse Jackie Crane (Nikki Coghill), Guy has a wandering eye for Penny.” Lee was initially surprised when she was presented with the script but feels the situation is a realistic one. “It’s a daring episode but it’s the reality of what could happen in this situation in an outback town,” she said. But with the future of The Flying Doctors in doubt the long-term repercussions of the affair may not be seen. The episode is scheduled to go to air in February.

‘I’m fighting fit!’Sale Of The Century co-host Jo Bailey has a bold announcement to make. “I want people to know that I’m not about to drop dead,” she says. The statement came after a recent magazine interview where she revealed that her family has a history of bowel cancer. “People read the headline that went with the story and think I’ve got cancer. I’d just like to clarify that I’m fighting fit… apart from being a bit stiff from water-skiing.”

Overseas viewers lap up KellySkippy may have been a popular television export but she looks like being trumped by an ex-police dog called Kelly. Kelly is a six-year-old german shepherd and the title character from Network Ten children’s series, Kelly. The first series of thirteen episodes has been sold to 31 countries and a second series is nearing completion. Execute producer Jonathon Shiff says it’s a major triumph for children’s television in Australia. “I’m thrilled about the reception the show has received overseas,” he said. “One of our targets is to deliver high-quality shows for children. There is still plenty of room for shows of Disney quality which has positive storylines and characters for children to model themselves on.” The series also features child actors Charmaine Gorman and Alexander Kemp.

Briefly…Fans of sitcom Acropolis Now will notice some changes with the fourth series of the show that is set to screen early in the new year – with the focus changing from “wog comedy” to broad family sitcom. “We don’t want to do a show that’s just directed at a wog audience – we want to include everybody,” says George Kapiniaris (pictured), who plays Memo in the show. “I’m sure it’s the best series we’ve made – and it’s the most mainstream one of all. The jokes are broader and the characters are funnier. Everyone is really keen to show Seven we’re serious about keeping the show going.”

A new policeman is about to make an entrance into A Country Practice’s Wandin Valley. Senior Constable Tom Newman (Jon Concannon, pictured) comes into town as the heir apparent to Frank Gilroy (Brian Wenzel) – and while producers won’t give much away, it appears that the new policeman’s arrival creates some resentment on Frank’s part. Concannon has previously starred in mini-series Nancy Wake and All The Rivers Run II and in the ABC series House Rules.

Lawrie Masterson’s Sound Off”While there is not a lot that’s worth watching on the small screen at the moment, other activities within the commercial networks have been almost frenzied. It seems every other day brings an announcement of a new program or the demise of one, someone switching networks or being axed, or someone making a comeback. In the past month we’ve had Nine planning its 5.30pm current affairs program in each city, and there’s a new frontman on Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show. The network has been less forthcoming about its future participation in the Crawfords Australia series The Flying Doctors. Derryn Hinch was dropped abruptly by Seven and picked up just as quickly by Ten. Bert Newton and Jacki MacDonald (pictured) also will be at Ten in 1992 and the network is about to move the bulk of its Melbourne operations from Nunawading to South Yarra – much more accessible, upmarket and convenient for Ten’s owner, Westpac. And Seven has been preparing for Real Life and the move of Home And Away to 7.00pm. One rumour doing the rounds is that Nine has given the go-ahead to a new Saturday morning show called Saturday At Rick’s, two hours of music and madness to be made at Rick’s Cafe American at Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast.”

John Laws says… ”It was a triumphant year for comedy. Fast Forward slipped into another gear and proved itself, again, the most inventive and funniest Australian comedy product, leaving more experimental black comedy such as The Big Gig and DAAS Kapital in its wake. All Together Now (pictured) and Hey Dad! were other comedy successes for the year. Hey Dad! displays an amazing resilience, the standard of its scripts rarely flagging despite having been around for a long time by TV standards. All Together Now struggled to establish itself, but it always had the look of a program that would manage to survive. It has a strong, professional cast and its scripts and plots got better as the year wore on.”

Program Highlights (Melbourne, December 28-January 3): Saturday: Seven crosses to Burswood Superdome, Perth, to start its live coverage of the Hopman Cup tennis. ABC presents golf with live coverage of the Australian Ladies’ Masters from Palm Meadows, Gold Coast, and Nine has live coverage of the afternoon session of play in the cricket Second Test from the MCG. Music video show Video Hits (Ten) presents the first part of its Top 100 songs of 1991 special. In the evening, Seven presents a one-hour special, 1991: The Big Picture, covering the major news and sporting events that have taken place over the past year.

Sunday: There’s more women’s golf on ABC, tennis on Seven and cricket on Nine, plus the second half of Video Hits’ Top 100 special. After the news, Nine screens a World Vision special, The Silent Tragedy, featuring Bryan Brown, Rachel Ward, Liz Burch and Ian Leslie as they visit World Vision projects and disaster areas in the Third World. Sunday night movies are The Sting (Seven) and Sweet Liberty (Ten), while Nine presents the first part of a repeat screening of mini-series The Lancaster Miller Affair, starring Nicholas Eadie and Kerry Mack.

Monday: Seven debuts a new pre-schoolers program, The Book Place, produced from SAS7 in Adelaide.

Tuesday (New Year’s Eve): ABC screens the 1951 musical Show Boat before presenting Backchat – The Year In Review, followed by late news and then American football with Don Lane which sees ABC through into 1992. Ten presents a special New Year’s Eve edition of Video Hits, starting at 10.35pm and continuing through to 1.50am, including a midnight countdown. SBS continues its New Year’s Eve tradition of screening the German-made comedy skit, Dinner For One.

Wednesday: Aussie ex-pat Clive James presents his review of the year, Clive James On ‘91, on ABC.

Thursday: Nine’s telecast of the Third Test begins from Sydney. Seven has live coverage of the evening session of the Hopman Cup, and Ten has a news special, Russia In Crisis, presented by Sydney newsreader Katrina Lee.

Friday: A full day of tennis on Seven with live coverage of the Australian Men’s Hardcourt Championships from Adelaide during the day and the finals of the Hopman Cup from Perth in the evening.